I also feel that an average "luxury" car owner expects more from the car and is much more angry and vocal when things don't measure up. So these surveys can be reflective of this potential 'amplification' of hurt :-) Again, this is not some scientific statistical deduction but a commonsense observation, since you end up paying a lot more if something conks out in a Merc/Beemer/Landrover etc., compared to a Japanese/Korean car.

 

I personally have not had tech issues, only build quality. I also noticed the fuel door you mentioned. It's about 2mm sticking out. I brought it to the SA's attention but he said it was normal. Lol.

I drive 40i and occasionally drive my wife's 350. They both have 21" but the GLE has more side walls. The plus from GLE: very nice for long distant travel (dead silent and comfortable), much more spacious (front and back). Other than those the below response is dead on. I also prefer wireless full screen CarPlay, a separated display and the settings on X5. Speaking of settings. I was trying to help my wife to set up so the car will only open her door or all depending which door she approaches. I could not find in car setting. I read the manual (Lol) but didn't see any mentioning about it either. So I googled it and found out there's a secret way to set this up. Wow so special, feel like going to In & Out and order something off the menu.
Upper door and dash too. Overall the GLE looks as if it were more luxurious but when you look at details you will see the differences.

 

You are reading it wrong. When someone says the average luxury car buyer expects more from their car, they don't mean that luxury car buyers are average. They mean that most luxury car buyers expect more because they paid more. Same way Maybach buyers will expect more from their than S class buyers who in turn expect more than c class buyers.

Per your post, the "OP has a high performance GLE not your/my 167." This stands to reason the OP will even expect more from his/her car than those with the 350 will.

And why are you trying to discredit posters? You said I had no experience with luxury cars, now you are saying someone only has 5 posts on their account... so what? That means they can't have an opinion on what they are driving now?

 

I've never seen a CR survey, so I can't report on what they ask.
But I have seen several JD Powers surveys (dozens), and they DO NOT ask about Reliability.

Powers asks, in essence: "Was the car what you expected / hoped?"

Customers who spend on the high end have higher expectations. Especially if they stretched to make that purchase.
The inverse is likely true, where low end buyers have lower expectations.

If my observations are correct, it might indicate that the JD Powers Initial Quality results are somewhat skewed. Toward the cheaper cars.

 

It depends on how its equipped, the GLE can be had with stitched material in these areas, but nothing can be done about the lower doors. GLE is exactly the same and at $100k that feels REALLY out of place.

JD power sends out multiple surveys. The Initial Quality Study is not a reliability study, that's the survey you are describing. They send out another survey, the Vehicle Dependability Study which is sent to people with 3 year old cars and that is a reliability study.

 

^^^^^ I agree, and you're correct about Powers.

Which means that their newest reliability ratings are on three-year-old cars.
​​​​​​We'll see their first V167 reviews in a year or so. ​​​​​

 

This thread has deteriorated from the original topic. CR is what it is but not the best tool available today!

Below is a brief article from Motor Bisquit that apparently means that the Mercedes SUV’s are now recommended by CR for 2023. Lacking context, any review may or may not be relevant to a prospective purchaser. Does anyone really believe that a review is more than a piece of information? All reviews have potential but they are still just a tool,IMO. One could write an article on what’s right or wrong with reviews, LOL.

Those newbies that haven’t followed the V167 Forum don’t have the background to understand some of the important history that led to above average issues….such as the V167 redesign (redesigns are usually more problematic), Pandemic issues, Component supply issues, unexpected demand and most of all building over 30,000 GLE’s missing components and stored for up to 6 months. That could easily mean that 30% of 2020MY production ended up in that lot of cars. They were stacked so tight that Mercedes couldn’t get to many of them even after receiving the missing components. Some of this is a poor management decision (in hindsight) and some not. Ford just built about 40,000 trucks that were stored waiting for components. GM is doing likewise but fewer and only waiting on chips. Anything done off of the production line is going to have a higher probability of less satisfactory results. Placing blame isn’t the issue but some history might help explain the backstory on QC. Add the battery issue for MY2021 and you get some important perspective on why. In many cases a few % points separate a large swing in the position of what might also be an arbitrary rating anyway. I dropped my CS subscription after several decades because I found it to have lost relevance. There are much better sources such as YouTube reviews, i.e. Autogefuhl one of my Fav’s! Forums are a better source of actual details but also require sorting out the BS.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/1-luxur...sumer-reports/

 

This car deserves that ranking in my opinion; I’m living this ranking first hand. There’s no sugar coating it. Every manufacturer went through the same difficulties but that didn’t cause them to get what is the worst ranking per CR. These manufacturers rose to the occasion unlike MB.

 

No one wants to be the “guy” that got a bad one. Your opinion would carry more weight if you posted more details about your issues and the results or lack of from Dealer Service trips to resolve an issue.
You complained about skipping windshield wipers…minor?…mostly resolved by 95% of us by deep cleaning the Glass.
The “normal” Ackerman affect (an issue in your opinion) only noticeable at full lock backing out of your driveway. Is this still bothering you?
One rattle has expanded into 5 now but it’s hard to understand how one can even isolate and count that many. Where are they, what has your Dealer done about them. Maybe post a Service Department invoice like most of us do with unresolved issues?
What serious issues have you encountered that make you hate the car?
Absent facts (about what many would consider minor issues) it’s difficult for some to take you seriously.
We all have different tolerance levels for QC issues so some pertinent details could buy you more support and less push back!

 

I don’t need to go over all of my issues again. You can cherry pick from the quandary of issues that I went over all you want. Why should we take someone who doesn’t even own the car serious when it comes to these matters?

 

Think about what you just said! I guess 3 1/2 years of ownership are not as relevant as someone that bought a car a few months ago? Like I posted just make your case if you want ideas or suggestions. If not, then that begs the question of relevancy of your negative posts. It’s obvious that you hate your car but I’m not sure that anyone knows why? Can you add a link to a serious problem you have identified that might have been missed by others.

 

This thread just keeps going in circles

 

I’ve posted my issues ad nauseam here. Feel free to search and cherry pick away. I don’t need to prove my issues to you to say this car has major design and quality issues. It does, I’ve experienced many of them and is it deserving of this ranking.

Just curious, why are you still here since you no longer own the car? What skin do you have in this game?

 

**Your car has major issues. Has mine been perfect? Nope. But we are vocal. There are also people on this forum who've had none and many others who aren't bothered to join a forum in the first place to be a source of data.

Look, I bought and ran a 2017 Range Rover from new for 2 years/40K miles. The king of crap reliability had no issues, squeaks or rattles under my watch. You cannot paint all vehicles of a type with the same brush.

 

The full article was just released (January 2023 edition). GLE scores much lower than every Tesla and keeps company with Jeep. No matter what you think about CR’s survey, that’s really pathetically bad but not the least surprising. That’s why these cars will likely have dreadful resale values over the next few years in my honest opinion.

 

Only if you actually give CR's opinion credibility? As has been discussed, they should stick to rating toasters and laundry detergent. Resale value of cars is driven by demand and availability...not what CR has to say.

 

I think they’re more credible than other surveys. Saying this isn’t credible would mean that CR’s Toyota ranking is equally invalid. That doesn’t seem “credible” to me.

Also, reliability certainly is a factor when it comes to second-hand demand, which can affect resale values.

 

I think it's important to remember who the people are who actually participate in Consumer Reports automotive surveys. They're typically older, non tech savvy people and they're also not automotive engineers. This is why I take Consumer Reports auto surveys with a grain of salt .that really have no value due to the lack of engineering expertise of the actual survey participants.

 

I guess credibility is in the eye of the reader so you make a valid point. I just don't have a lot of faith in surveys.

 

To be fair, thats exactly what makes it the best source for so many people out there

Its kinda like how Apple computers are always recommended over PCs because they're more reliable and easier to use.
I prefer my PCs and have never had a problem I can't fix myself. But I get that the vast majority of the population is probably better off with a Mac.

 

I paid a monthly subscription fee so I could see the actual CR results. They don't reflect the screenshots posted here. There's the Headline, and the "Click Here" splash screen, but then there's a mostly unrelated text and findings in their articles.

They asked me if I would rate the GLE as an owner, so I did.
Then I went on and gave my "Owner's" reliability review on a Hyundai, a Ford and a Toyota. I own none of those, but CR now includes my review as an Owner Review.

So it's a popularity contest. Give CR Ten Bucks and you can Vote up or down.
Have your friends join in, and you can have better resale!

 

We can assume all kinds of depreciation and recent years have been unpredictable but to date the V167 has by far the best resale value. We had a few ML's/GLE's and the current one is the best of the bunch as a package. The W166 with it's V6 was a better base engine though...

 

The big issue facing this model—and brand in general to a lesser or same extent—is that once a reputation for poor reliability gets established, it’s very difficult to overcome. It’s a stigma that stays for a very long time and will forever linger in the back of people’s mind. It also has a spillover effect in that one bad apple can stain an entire brand. The V167 is, in my opinion, well on its way to cementing that reputation. This reputation certainly can influence demand down the road and by extension resale values.

If you want to get mad at someone for this, blame everyone from the managers, engineers and production line workers for this model because they’re haven’t and are not doing a good job and, like it or not, some of this gets reflected back onto these surveys.

 

Why would someone rate something that they don't know? And if they do, the same goes the opposite. No? People usually go out of their way to voice when they have a negative experience. But if they don't, why would they make their way to voice their "experience"? Is it because they want to bring the particular product down so their favorite one can go up? Lol

 

I see a lot of hypotheticals here. The V167 has been selling very well since inception and demand has outstripped supply for the first half of its lifecycle. That is definitely better than prior versions of this model with the 1st Gen ML being the worst on the quality end of things. While one can argue about the 48V issue which seems to span brands rather than models, I cannot see reliability issues with this model at all nor do I see any reliability discussions in the automotive press.